JADE.

Three

"You know, if I could wear your eight inch heels, I would but my balls wouldn't be hanging to the ground." Henry, Gianna's roommate and best friend, states as he goes through her closet looking at the tall shoes. Gianna chuckles while scrolling on her phone with a towel on as Henry attempts to pick out an outfit for his best girl friend.

Huffing, "Gianna, do you even know where you are going? I have no idea what to pick out for you if you don't give me any leeway." Henry says and the falls backwards onto her bed, closing his eyes as he does.

Gianna shrugs her shoulder emphasizing that she does not know where they are going as she continues to scroll. She doesn't know if it is formal or causal. Should she wear another wig to conceal her identity, hell, she doesn't even know this man's name. But in fairness, he only knows her work name and not her real name. The amount of overthinking that is going through her mind is piling up as she goes to the text thread between her and this man. She reads in-between the text, trying to figure out where they are going on their date.

Nothing.

"Crap, I am going to have to text him, huh?" She asks her best friend and he nods his head, opening his eyes. He sits on the bed, grabbing Gianna's phone without her say. He begins to type furiously than hands the phone back to her. He gives her a small smile as Gianna reads what he has sent to the man.

Yo, what the hell am I supposed to wear?

Henry laughs as he watches her expression turn from shock to embarrassment, "I don't even text like that! You would be such a bad me and you know it." She turns her phone off and folds her hands together, putting them on her lap. "Now we wait till he text back, if he says formalwear, I might not go."

The room remains silent as Henry shakes his head quickly and flicks Gianna's knee, hard. The two of them have been going back and forth about Gianna needing to date and exploring the world of men. Not only that, she needs to sleep with someone her own age besides that old sugar daddy she has been seeing. Though Gianna vowed she has never slept with anyone older than 50, Henry thinks she has slept with this 76 year old man who still likes to dip into the strip club. Not only that, but Gianna's parents are pressing for her to go out and explore before she gets too old. Especially her mother who wants Gianna to get married and have kids. Not only that, but her parents are ready to kick her off the insurance plan. Even when Gianna pays for everything from her apartment to school tuition, her parents still pay for her insurance and car note. The car was a graduation gift from high school and her parents vowed they would continue paying for it until she purchased a new car. Lucky for her, she graduates this year from culinary school and won't have to pay tuition anymore.

The phone buzzes as Gianna picks it up to see the unknown, known, number pop up on her phone. She reads the text aloud, "Casual, I wouldn't do formal for our first date. Maybe our third date as three times is a charm."

Henry puckers his lips out and kisses the air, getting up from the bed. "Okay casual, what about your white Basso shark shoes and some shorts considering it is hot as balls outside..." He puts his finger on his chin, tapping it a few times then goes to the closet and begins pulling out the shorts and shoes. He throws them on the bed beside Gianna who is watching him curiously, wondering what outfit he is going to put her in for the night.

It is safe to say that Henry is the best person to get outfits together as he is the one that helps her come up with outfits for her shows. Not only that, he is trying to become a celebrity stylist for either Beyoncé or Meg Thee Stallion.

"Hmm, no. I like these big, boy jeans better with the shoes and possibly this extra large shirt. It is best to be comfortable for this date as it could be a movie or bowling. You never know." Henry shrugs his shoulders and pulls out the rest of the outfit. Gianna agrees with him as she gets up from the bed, going to her dresser to pull out underwear and a bra. "Wear a thong and I would say wear no bra, but you never know. Don't want your girls to be flopping everywhere." He winks at her and she rolls her eyes.

"You would love if they flopped everywhere for your sake. You did kiss them in junior high." Gianna tells him as Henry looks mortified and groans.

The two best friends have been inseparable since they met each other in seventh grade Texas History class, first period. Henry being a thick little black boy who was questioning his sexuality had everyone stay clear from him except Gianna. She wanted to be his friend as she loved his personality and his wardrobe. He was different and she could easily see that from miles away as others didn't. The two of them became the best dressed in junior and high school as well got their title of proclaimed Best Dressers in the yearbook for all four years of high school. When they graduated, Henry went to FIDIM in California for a year then returned back to Houston because he hated FIDIM. He claims it was FIDIM, but Gianna secretly knows he hates California and prefers New York. Henry never went back to school after that as he works for clients in the rich parts of Houston. Plus, he knows staying in Houston is best when it is Beyoncé's hometown.

"Your ass is getting fatter, Gigi, it is definitely that pecan pie my mama has been making for your fatass." Gianna laughs as she pulls the jeans Henry set out for her as she mentally agrees because she doesn't need a belt with these jeans. She pulls over the yellow graphic tee of Ed, Edd, and Eddy, her favorite cartoon while she was growing up though her parents never approved of Cartoon Network.

Gianna goes to her ensuite bathroom and looks at herself in the mirror, her hair still wet from the shower she took earlier in the day. Her face dry as she didn't moisturize it after she washed it, sighing loudly, "I think I'll put my hair up in those stupid space buns since my hair is still wet. I'll put on my clear mascara and lip-gloss, but that is it."

Henry gasps, "Don't call space buns stupid! They are cute if you do them right and I agree, keep it natural. What time is he picking you up?" Gianna begins to wrap her blonde hair up into space buns with a few pieces of hair left out.

Slowly swiping her mascara on, "Around 6 ish, he said he would call when he was five minutes away. Speaking of that what time is-" She was cut off with her phone vibrating on her nightstand. Henry and Gianna both look at each other as neither one of them moves until Henry grabs her phone, throwing at Gianna. Luckily, Gianna catches it with both hands and answers it quickly.

"Hello?" She says, nervously waiting for the person on the other side of the line to greet her.

"I am outside, I forgot to call when I was five minutes away. I hope that is okay! I am in a red Challenger, see you soon beautiful." Gianna hangs up the phone and gulps as she looks at Henry.

Whispering, "He is here."

Henry burst out laughing and grabs her black knockoff version of Kate Spade shoulder purse where her wallet is already placed in. Gianna hurries and glosses her lips and slips on her platform sneakers. She breathes in slowly and gives Henry a hug and a cheek kiss before leaving their apartment. Gianna runs down the stairs as she is lucky their apartment is only on the second floor, the highest floor. She sees the red Challenger and walks toward it slowly, breathing slowly like she does before a show at the club.

"Wow, you look beautiful, here let me open the door for you." The man gets out of his car and comes around to the passenger side, opening the door for Gianna. He looks her in the eye as he takes in her beauty while she gets into the car. She looks around and notices how clean the car is and how good it smells in the car. The scent of pinewood and spicy like cinnamon, Gianna fell in love with the scent of his car to the point where she was sniffing hard.

"Do you not like the scent of my car? I can try to spray it with something else, I know it can be overwhelming to the human nose." The man states and Gianna shakes her head, clearing her throat than looks at him his gorgeous blue eyes.

"No, it is just perfect."